Dana White Congratulates Tito Ortiz After Bellator 170 Win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9EgzKT4fv8

Despite all the bad blood between UFC President Dana White and former UFC champ/Bellator MMA star Tito Ortiz over the years, it appears cooler heads prevailed following Ortiz’s retirement. Apparently, White reached out after the latter’s final bout Saturday — and was complimentary. Ortiz, who submitted Chael Sonnen in the final tilt of his historic career, spoke to ESPN after the fight, and confirmed that White had sent a message his way — by way of Ortiz’s girlfriend, Amber Nichole Miller. Miller was previously employed by the UFC as an octagon girl.

Per Ortiz:

He actually sent my girlfriend a text message, cause she used to work for UFC, and they always talk back and forth. When I first signed with Bellator, Dana sent me focus mitts with his face on it and said, ‘If this doesn’t motivate you, nothing will.’ So I guess it’s that love/hate relationship we have toward each other. But, thank you Dana for the text, saying that’s the way I should go out, on top. I mean, I love the guy, he was my first manager, you know. I always just fought for what I wanted for my career. No hard feelings, I’ve grown up a lot over the last four years, and I’ve done a lot of things business-wise for my future. I’ve made mistakes before and I will never make those mistakes again.

Ortiz (19–12–1) finished his career on a 3-1 run in Bellator MMA, with his only loss being in a light heavyweight title fight against then-champ Liam McGeary. Prior to that final run, 27 of his 28 other bouts came in the UFC, where he served as the longest reigning light heavyweight champion prior to the rise of Jon Jones. However, a feud with White (that included plans for the two to face off in a boxing match that never materialized) soured his UFC run, and he eventually left the company and transitioned into a fighter manager following a 2012 loss to Forest Griffin — though not before being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He was then lured out of retirement for his final run in Bellator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9EgzKT4fv8

Despite all the bad blood between UFC President Dana White and former UFC champ/Bellator MMA star Tito Ortiz over the years, it appears cooler heads prevailed following Ortiz’s retirement. Apparently, White reached out after the latter’s final bout Saturday — and was complimentary. Ortiz, who submitted Chael Sonnen in the final tilt of his historic career, spoke to ESPN after the fight, and confirmed that White had sent a message his way — by way of Ortiz’s girlfriend, Amber Nichole Miller. Miller was previously employed by the UFC as an octagon girl.

Per Ortiz:

He actually sent my girlfriend a text message, cause she used to work for UFC, and they always talk back and forth. When I first signed with Bellator, Dana sent me focus mitts with his face on it and said, ‘If this doesn’t motivate you, nothing will.’ So I guess it’s that love/hate relationship we have toward each other. But, thank you Dana for the text, saying that’s the way I should go out, on top. I mean, I love the guy, he was my first manager, you know. I always just fought for what I wanted for my career. No hard feelings, I’ve grown up a lot over the last four years, and I’ve done a lot of things business-wise for my future. I’ve made mistakes before and I will never make those mistakes again.

Ortiz (19–12–1) finished his career on a 3-1 run in Bellator MMA, with his only loss being in a light heavyweight title fight against then-champ Liam McGeary. Prior to that final run, 27 of his 28 other bouts came in the UFC, where he served as the longest reigning light heavyweight champion prior to the rise of Jon Jones. However, a feud with White (that included plans for the two to face off in a boxing match that never materialized) soured his UFC run, and he eventually left the company and transitioned into a fighter manager following a 2012 loss to Forest Griffin — though not before being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He was then lured out of retirement for his final run in Bellator.